PoolRoom

Do or Fly: Last U.S. Qualifier for IPT Brings 78 Players

It’s gut-check time in the world of pro pool as 78 players prepare to fight it out in the last U.S. qualifier for the International Pool Tour, held this weekend at Country Club Billiards in Boston.

Only four more spots are open on the 150-player tour for the 2006 season, and two will be awarded in Boston. The final qualifier is scheduled March 10-12 at House of Billiards Weert in The Netherlands.

Back for another shot at the open slots are such major names as Chia-Ching Wu, the current WPA world 8-ball and 9-ball champ; Europeans Thomas Engert, Vilmos Foldes, and Imran Majid; and Americans George Breedlove, Robb Saez and Frankie Hernandez. Also in the running are Filipinos Santos Sambajon, Warren Kiamco and Ramil Gallego.

Several of these players are making their third or fourth try at the multimillion-dollar tour. Almost every player paid a $2,000 entry fee for the event, with the exception of a few high finishers from earlier qualifiers who earned free passes.

The IPT’s first major 2006 event — the North American 8-Ball Open Championship — is scheduled for July 22-30 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The purse is set at $2 million, and the top finisher will receive $350,000.

This is the second IPT qualifier in as many weekends. Germany’s Oliver Ortmann and Filipino Dennis Orcollo were the top finishers at the qualifier held Feb. 17-19 at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, Calif.

Teen Sensation Wu Joins Packed IPT Qualifier Field

If you thought the first two qualifiers for the International Pool Tour were tough, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Qualifier No. 3 begins today at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, Calif., and a full field of 78 players has registered to compete for two open spots on the million-dollar 8-ball tour. The top shooters include Chia-Ching Wu, the current WPA world 8-ball and 9-ball champion; German pool statesman Oliver Ortmann; and Filipino ace Antonio Lining.

With a field packed with pros and excellent amateur players, every match in the double-elimination event looks to be a barn-burner. Almost every player paid a $2,000 entry fee for the event, with the exception of a few high finishers from the previous two qualifiers who earned free passes.

Those taking their second — and, in some cases, third — shot at the IPT include European studs Thomas Engert, Vilmos Foldes, and Imran Majid; and Americans George Breedlove, Robb Saez and Frankie Hernandez. Also in the running are Filipinos Santos Sambajon, Warren Kiamco and Ramil Gallego.

The biggest surprise is 17-year-old Wu, who made the trip from his native Taiwan, apparently in hopes of cashing in on the big-bucks tour.

The IPT’s first major 2006 event — the North American 8-Ball Open Championship — is scheduled for July 22-30 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The purse is set at $2 million, and the top finisher will receive $350,000.

The strength of this weekend’s qualifier field is even more remarkable taking into account that the Joss Tour’s Turning Stone event in Verona, N.Y., has fielded 128 players this weekend. Between the IPT and Joss event, almost every active pool pro in the Western world is playing this weekend.

The remaining two IPT qualifiers are scheduled for Feb. 24-26 at Country Club Billiards in Chelmsford, Mass., and March 10-12 at House of Billiards Weert in The Netherlands.

Basavich on Top at Ocean State

Continuing his amazing coming-out year of tournament play, Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich won the Joss N.E. 9-Ball Tour’s 16th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship.

The field of 75 that showed up at Snooker’s Cafe & Billiards in Providence, RI, Jan. 29-30, included recognized names such as Joe Tucker, Frankie Hernandez, Tony Robles and Joey Korsiak. Basavich bested them all, facing Tucker in the finals after sending him to the one-loss side in the third round. Though Tucker got to a 4-0 lead in the championship match, Basavich got to the table in game seven and won the next seven straight games to win it all, 9-4.

“Joe Tucker actually ran the first 4 racks, and was up 4-0,” Basavich said. “I didn’t run all of my games, but I’d run three racks, then run another three racks, like that.”

Things keep just keep getting better for Basavich, with his “Kid Delicious” cue sticks and a four-disc DVD set selling like hotcakes. But the capper by far is his game: “I’m playing the best I’ve ever played,” Basavich said. “[At Ocean City] nobody got past 4 games against me the whole tournament. I’m not being cocky — I can’t believe how things are going myself.”

Basavich collected $2,500 for the win, while Tucker settled for $1,800.

Deuel wins UPA Championship

Corey Deuel completed an undefeated run to win the UPA Pro Tour Championship at the Bicycle Club in Bellflower California this weekend.

Deuel, known as the master of the soft break, was working that break to perfection all weekend and had wins over Charlie Williams, Mika Immonen and Efren Reyes before a 7-5 win over Danny Basavich for the hot-seat.

On the one-loss side, Basavich eliminated US Open Champion Gabe Owen 7-3 and forced Owen to settle for third place.

The finals were one race to seven on the ESPN table, and it went all the way to hill-hill before Corey put it away.

Deuel earned $10,000 for first place, while Basavich settled for $5000 in second place prize money. Owen and Efren Reyes filled out the top four places.

Complete Results:
1st Corey Deuel $10,000
2nd Danny Basavich $5,000
3rd Gabe Owen $4,000
4th Efren Reyes $3,000
5th/6th Rodney Morris, Mika Immonen $2,400
7th/8th Ralf Souquet, Santos Sambajon $1,850
9th/12th Frankie Hernandez, Mike Davis, Paul Potier, Troy Frank $1,350
13th/16th Francisco Bustamante, Johnny Archer, Tony Robles, Rodolfo Luat $900
17th/24th Charlie Williams, Neil Fujiwara, Bill Ferguson, Danny Kuykendall, Dave Hemmah, Max Eberle, Robb Saez, Charlie Bryant $400

Archer Takes Players Championship

Johnny Archer won the Brunswick Men’s Professional Players Championship, held March 25-28 at the Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, Pa.

Archer took a surprise second-round loss to Frankie Hernandez, 10-2, and then charged through 10 straight matches in the left bracket for the win. Notable victories included a hill victory over Charlie Williams, plus wins over Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet.

In the final against Jose Parica, Archer dominated, 10-4, collecting $10,000 for the title. Parica took home $5,000 while Souquet and Jose Garcia took home $3,500 and $2,500 for third and fourth places, respectively.

Patriot Games

93aTeam Predator, consisting of the top players from the Florida Tour, defeated Team Joss of the Joss Northeast Tour in the inaugural Patriot Cup held at Planet 9-Ball in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 15-17. Charlie Williams, the event’s promoter, had a hand in several key matches that led to his team’s victory, including a win over George SanSouci in the break contest. The three-day event pitted the rival tours against one another in a series of games, including 9-ball, 10-ball, straight pool and one-pocket.

Team Predator’s roster featured Ray Martin (team captain), Buddy Hall, Nick Varner, Tommy Kennedy and Williams. Runner-up Team Joss included Mike Zuglan (team captain), Tony Robles, Frankie Hernandez, Mika Immonen and SanSouci. The event is scheduled to return next year in a location to be determined. For complete coverage of the event, check the April issue of Billiards Digest.